Video games are cyclical. An IP releases, and if it does really well there will most likely be sequels, trilogies, entire franchises, or even series based off of it. Let some time pass and there will almost certainly be rereleases, re-imaginings, and reboots of the same IP. Some of these newer versions of classic games are even better than the original. I mean, look at Shadow of the Colossus! At the time of this writing, the PlayStation 4 version of the game had even higher ratings than the original. That's pretty impressive. At the least, all newer versions of an old game do something that's great. Maybe they bring old and dated graphics into a new and beautiful age. Maybe they turn the sound design from something that was blah to something that's hurrah! Or perhaps they take a character and totally change them up.

The latter part is what seems to be the most controversial for people when it comes to newer versions of old classics. Some consider certain character designs to be sacred. “You can't touch that character or you'll forever change the canon!” Others might have a simpler reaction, like, “I just really liked how they looked. And it wasn't broken. So why did you fix it?” Sometimes we just plain and simply have a connection with a certain era of a character's life. Some might like the original Lara Croft design, others might side more with the spunky younger version of her that came along with the 2010s reboots.

No matter what character you're attached to or which version of them you like the most, it can be easy to understand attachment. Most of us will always long for that first innocent love we experienced, as first loves never die. And original character designs fare much the same way. We remember the first time we saw Master Chief or Cloud Strife. To know that any of them are going to be given a new look can be hard to grasp. In a way, it feels like developers are messing with something that's really personal. The memories you have from the first time you met a favorite video game character are very important in their own right.

What's even more crucial to remember is that these developers are not doing what they are to personally attack you. They aren't trying to destroy those cherished memories that you hold on to. All they are simply doing is creating their own version of a character. Just like you can draw a more humanoid version of Minnie Mouse in a pin-up style (which might frustrate or even anger some Mouse fans), a game developer can take a character and update or alter it as they please. It's the freedom of art and creation. Just like how the Final Fantasy VII remake will be showing a different version of Cloud than we're used to. What we'll see there is just a different imagining that the creators wanted to share.

You can love or hate a reimagining, that is entirely your right to do so. But it's also the developers' right to share their imagination and dreams with the world. So as much as you might hate the way Dante looks in DmC: Devil May Cry, the person who created him might adore him. Game characters are always going to be shifting and changing as time moves on, which means their look will be updated and reimagined from time to time. Much as we may dislike it at times, we have to remember that change is a good thing. We don't want things to stagnate, and stay the same. So give those new looks a change, and you might find something in them that you like.